Out last stop in Australia was Melbourne, a lovely city on the South East coast, a quick flight from Sydney.
I was getting pretty excited about visiting Melbourne as we had arranged to stay with a friend of mine I hadn’t seen in nearly a decade. (Wow, that makes me feel really old.) We were planning to meet up with my friend, Victoria, and her family and head to nearby Phillip Island to relax a bit.
Before meeting up with Vic, we checked out some of the scenes in Melbourne. Personally, I liked Melbourne a lot because it was so “green.” I don’t mean in the environmentally friends sense, although it may be, but that it was literally very green with beautiful flowers everywhere and Gardens to walk around in for hours.
We started with the Royal Botanic Gardens, which was just a short walk from our hotel. We could literally have gotten lost there and enjoyed the colors the whole time. We wandered around and checked out the huge variety of plant species. Everything is nicely labeled, which is awesome so you can know just what are looking at and finding some cool facts out. There are gazebos everywhere for relaxing while taking in the scenery. All around awesome place.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Griffin’s favorite bird of all time, which we found in Melbourne, the Cassowary. We like to call it the Dino Bird because of the oddly shaped crest on the top of its head that looks prehistoric in our minds, if to no one else. Anyway, Griffin has become obsessed with this bird.
After checking out the garden for a while, we stopped in the nearby Shrine of Remembrance, a military museum detailing Australia’s journey to freedom and contributions to world wars. It’s a solemn place of remembrance and touched our hearts even as foreign visitors. The place also boasts a pretty amazing architectural feat, which can be seen in the Sanctuary. A sunken stone plaque which reads, “Greater love hath no man” is read by the visitors in such a way that they much bow their heads to read it. The quote is part of the Bible verse, John 15:13, which states, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Every year on November 11th at exactly 11:00am, the sun shines through a open block in the roof and lands directly on the word “Love.” Daylight savings time has caused the necessity of a mirror to be placed to continue to tradition, but it is no less powerful. During the rest of the year, visitors can enjoy a simulation.
Finally we were ready to meet up with Vic’s husband, Chris, for the ride down to Phillip Island. I was happy to see my friend again and meet her sweet family. We had a great time catching up. As it turned out, we also got to meet Chris’ parents and Victoria’s parents as well, which was a blessing to us.
Vic and Chris offered lots of advice for things to see around the island, so we started with the Phillip Island Wildlife Park. This place is getting up close and personal with all kinds of animals and we loved every minute of it. We got to pet Kangaroos, Wallabies, and Emus and saw Koalas, Eagles, and so many more animals I can’t even think of them all. Basically, I didn’t want to leave there and tried to talk Griffin into letting me have a Kangaroo to take home. He said no. =(
We took an extended family trip with all ten of us to The Nobbies, a nature park with one of the most beautiful coastal walkways I’ve ever seen. There is a small island off the coast with hundreds of seals sunbathing, which we enjoyed seeing as well.
Finally, we had to do it, we went to the Penguin Parade. This is a natural phenomenon that occurs nearly every evening at the same time, when hundreds of penguins arrive on shore after a day of fishing and waddle to their beach homes. These are not just any penguins, though, they are “Fairy Penguins,” tiny little fuzzy penguins that stand about 12 inches tall. They are some of the cutest things you’ve ever seen. People have been coming to watch the penguins come home since the 1920’s and it’s still extremely popular. I tried to talk Griffin into letting me have a penguin to take home. He said no. =(
After a few days of seeing the sites on Phillip Island, we tagged along to Vic and Chris’ home back in Melbourne and had a great time hanging out and playing with her cute kids. From there, we booked a rushed flight to continue our journey in New Zealand!
If your in the area, I can’t recommend beautiful Melbourne or Phillip Island highly enough!
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While traveling in New Zealand, we definitely wanted to take a stop in Rotorua, New Zealand’s hotspot for geothermal activity. A short stroll around town can take you past countless hot pools and bubbling mud pits being heated directly by the Earth’s core.
The absolute best way to see everything Rotorua has to offer in one place is with a morning visit to Wai-O-Tapu.
While Wai-O-Tapu is great to visit at any time of day, I recommend visiting in the morning; at 10:15 to be exact. That’s the time the Lady Knox Geyser erupts each day and you definitely don’t want to miss it. Griffin and I were surprised by how much we learned about geysers in the brief speech given by a park guide shortly before the spout gave us a show. It was still going when we finished our photos and headed to the main park area to check out the rest of the “geothermal wonderland.” Of course, don’t show up at 10:15 exactly. You’ll need to get there early to get tickets and make your way to the viewing area, which is a little past the main entrance to Wai-O-Tapu.
After the geyser, head back to the main entrance to continue your tour. There are three routes around the park, a short, middle and long, depending on how much time you have. The long route takes about 1-1 ½ and I highly recommend doing this one. Honestly speaking, I can’t think of any of the sites you would want to miss by taking a shorter trek. Not to worry, all three routes are easy walking and self-guided, so you can go at your own pace. You’ll find the place well marked and the routes easy to follow with a handy map, which you can find in several languages.
The thing we kept asking ourselves was “How on earth did this many geothermals end up in one relatively small area?” It’s amazing.
Highlights of the walk include the Sinter Terrace Formations, Champagne Pool, Crater Lakes, Hydrothermal areas, and an amazing range of colorful pools and volcanic areas. You’ll need to remember your camera for sure.
Nearby the park itself is another famous site, the Mud Pools, which was entertaining enough to make us stop and stare through more time than we noticed.
The geyser, park and mud pools all combined to give us a fantastic morning adventure that you will absolutely not want to miss. I promise this place is definitely worth the visit.
Tips:
Wai-O-Tapu opens at 8:30am and closes at 5:00pm, with the last admission at 3:45. If you arrive early in the morning, make sure you time it so you can leave to see Lady Knox erupt at 10:15am.
Get to the geyser area early as the viewing area fills up. If you’re planning to take photos or video, you may want to check which way the wind in traveling before choosing your seat as mist from the geyser can wet your equipment pretty thoroughly.
There is a lovely cafe if you need refreshment as well as a visitor center on site.
The staff is extremely friendly and they will go out of their way to answer any questions for you and help you find your way around.
Make sure you follow the guide map closely so you don’t miss any of the hotspots. They are each numbered, so they are easy to follow, but some of the turns can confuse you if you’re not checking the map closely.
For more information, visit the Wai-O-Tapu website here.
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Experience the warmth of our people during an evening of ceremonial rituals, powerful cultural performance, storytelling & hangi feasting!
One of the things that I was most looking forward to about visiting New Zealand was getting to know a little more about the Maori culture. I had heard little pieces of information about the indigenous people of this beautiful place, and was interested to learn more. Although Maori people make up more than 14% of the population of New Zealand, it is still difficult to get much history about the culture, short of just asking someone.
Then we heard about the Tamaki Maori Village in Rotorua. We quickly signed up for this unique learning experience.
Our bus arrived at our hostel right on time and we were greeted by both the driver and a guide. As we made our way to the village, the passengers formed a tribe and our bus became an ancient canoe that we paddled along the way. A chief was chosen to represent our group and the guide gave us important information about how the Maori people came to be the first inhabiters of New Zealand.
Upon entering the village, three Maori warriors came make sure our tribes came in peace. Once it was established that we meant no harm to the village, we were invited in.
Inside the gate, the village stands much like Maori villages once did. Groups are free to tour around and watch presentations about village life and even participate in a few dances and games if they like. Maori history and culture is alive and well here.
The group was then lead to an outside pavilion area where our dinner was being cooked via geothermal heating in a pit! We watched as lamb, chicken and vegetables were pulled from the ground, smoking hot and smelling amazing!
While dinner was prepared, we were treated to a show like no other. The warriors and women of the tribe put on demonstration after demonstration to show us everything from how to keep rhythm during dances, to how to kill an enemy with a wooden paddle. Photography was encouraged, but who could take their eyes away from this spectacular exhibition?
After a short video about even more Maori history, we were ushered into the dining hall for a feast! The very food we saw pulled from the pit earlier had been prepared, along with other treats, and was set out buffet style before us. I’m a little bit of a picky eater, but there was nothing I didn’t LOVE about this dinner. When desert came, it was more of the same homemade goodness, including a new favorite, Pavlova!
When all hearts and bellies were full, we set off from the village to return to the modern world. Our driver led us on several sing-a-longs that made the time pass all too quickly.
In the end, this was one of my favorite experiences of our travels so far, and is sure to become a fantastic memory of our trip to New Zealand. If you’re visiting New Zealand, I encourage you to give this experience a try. You certainly won’t regret it!
If you want to check out this fantastic experience, you can check out their website here. The tour lasts 3 1/2 hours and they will pick you up from your hotel or hostel. They are awesome about giving discounts, so be sure to check with them beforehand or check with your accommodation staff. You’ll need to book at least a day beforehand and the tours are available 7 days a week. We also highly recommend skipping lunch on the day of your tour! Please let us know if you go!
]]>We are currently finishing our travels in New Zealand and let me encourage and persuade you that if you have not been to New Zealand before, you should put it on your bucket list and make it out here before you die. This place is amazing; so wild, beautiful and clean. It feels like seeing the earth a couple thousand years ago before factories, skyscrapers, garbage and pollution existed. The rivers and streams are clear as glass, some with even a vibrant blue tinge to them. The air is crisp and clean. The sunlight is strong and unhindered by smog or soot from too many cars, homes and people. The trees are large, plentiful and healthy. There must be more moss and ferns in New Zealand than in the rest of the world combined. You can visit and walk around on Glaciers right next to rain forests. You can check out thermal pools of strange colors, boiling mud pools and even a few geysers. You can wear shorts and a t-shirt and look up to see snow covered peaks or ancient glaciers high above. I am telling you, this country is breathtakingly beautiful and well worth a visit.
While visiting the North Island, we met up with some friends of ours that we had gotten to know in Korea. They left a couple months before us, did some traveling around Asia and then headed to their home in New Zealand to settle down and start a Photography and Design company. It was great to see some close friends and catch up for a couple days while also getting an inside look at New Zealand and some local insights into what it’s like to live here.
One of the highlights of our time with David and Vicki was a 10 hour hike across the Togararo Crossing. This is quite a unique landscape with lots of lava rocks and other volcanic features. Many of the landscapes on and around the hike were used as the backdrop for Mount Doom in The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy. Toward the beginning of the hike we came across this little waterfall which I thought might make a great extended exposure image. Extended exposure just means that I kept the shutter open for as long as possible – in this case, 20 seconds. That is what gives the water its smooth look and the clouds a little bit of motion.
Click image to view larger or to purchase a print
Photo taken using Tamron SP AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical [IF]
Travel Photo Of The Week Sponsored By Tamron USA.
For more information about Tamron and the lenses we use, check out our sponsors page here.
TECHNICAL INFO: For this shot I used what is called a Neutral Density filter and my awesome travel tripod – the Velbon UT 43D provided by One Source Network. The Neutral Density filter is basically a dark piece of glass which allows you to keep the camera shutter open for long periods of time which would usually not be possible in broad daylight. To create this image I used an ND 1000 which adds ten f-stops or levels of darkness. I used a timed shutter release of ten seconds to make sure my hand didn’t cause any shake in the image and made sure my tripod was set up nice and sturdy.
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New Zealand, known by many as the adventure capital of the world, is certainly not short on things to do. From the highest peaks to under the water, here’s eight adventures to have in New Zealand.
Photo by Dave Appleby
Glacier walking
New Zealand’s Fox and Franz Joseph glaciers are two of the most accessible floes of ice in this world. So accessible, in fact, that you can do half- or full-day hikes on them. Budget travellers will want to hike up, while those with a bit more coin can add a scenic helicopter ride in then down some champagne while standing on a moving river of ice.
Photo by Natalie Downe
White water rafting
The spray, the screams, the hard paddling as you manouver around outcrops. White water rafting certainly gets the blood flowing. New Zealand’s pristine environments and great safety record make it a top choice for your first attempt and for experienced rafters.
And New Zealand is one of the few places in the world you can raft class five rapids on a tour. Awesome.
Black water rafting
From fast and furious to slow and scary: black water rafting will take you through underground rivers carving through limestone caves. Semi-submersed in a wetsuit and innertube, you’ll be able to stare up at magnificent constellations of glow worms on the rocky ceiling.
Bungy jumping
The world’s first commercial bungy site is at the scenic and historical Kawarau Bridge, just outside of Queenstown. Another 25 minutes down the road is the world’s second highest bungy, the Nevis. This 134 meter drop hangs from a wire between two mountains … It’s a long way down. You could also jump off Auckland’s iconic landmarks: the Skytower and the harbour bridge, and half a dozen other things around the country.
Photo by Kimbo
Heli-skiiing
Jumping from a helicopter into fresh virgin snow is some people’s idea of a good time. If it’s yours, then winter is a prime time to get down to New Zealand. The best thing? New Zealand’s winter is from June through August so there’s no reason our northern hemisphere friends can’t jump down here and ski all year round. With many countries part of the Working Holiday program, you might be able to fund all the fun by working on the slopes.
Photo by Alex Massengale
Tramping
No, not looking homeless! Tramping is New Zealand slang for hiking, and with 14 large national parks and dozens of nature reserves there’s great opportunities to get out and about in the wild. There are thousands of tracks with facilities varying between nice huts and catered food to a flat bit of grass and a river running beside it. You can really choose your own adventure, or just drive 45 minutes from any central business district and find yourself immersed and alone with the waves, wind and birdlife.
Photo by sturmjah
Diving
New Zealand is also home to 25 marine reserves, where no marine life can be taken without heavy punishments. This makes swimming with the fishes a whole new experience as they school past you in great numbers. There’s also some pretty nifty snorkling to be done when the water is at waist hight if SCUBA isn’t your cup of tea.
Mountain climbing
The country that Sir Edmund Hillary grew up in isn’t short of interesting climbs. While the highest mountain, Mt Cook, only sits at 3,754 metres (12,316 ft) high, it has three challenging peaks to summit with two glaciers heading down the sides. For the more casual climber, there are great spots for a jaunt within some city boundaries, and plenty of walls to explore.
There are dozens of innovative adventure sports we haven’t listed, from the Schweeb to the Zorb, but I guess you’ll have to come down for a visit.
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